Pattern at the bottom of this post*Scroll to very bottom to print pattern*

Fabric marking pen

Sewing machine

Hand needle

Velcro (Less than $1 at Walmart!)

Trace the pattern to your fabric.

You should have three pieces - Large Bow, Small Bow, Neck Piece

I trace on the right side but real seamstresses might encourage you to trace on the wrong side. I really don't know the "rules" of sewing.

[I was using 1/4 yard of fabric but you really can do this with 1/8 yard...see picture below.]

Cut out your pieces.

You now have three fabric pieces.

Uh...sorry, I forgot to take a picture before I sewed up the first piece.

Fold one of the bow [large rectangular] pieces in half lengthwise

RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER matching raw edges.

Sew a straight stitch all the way across with a 3/8" seam allowance.

*Remember to back stitch at the beginning and end of all your pieces to secure your stitching!*

Yours will be preferably done in coordinating thread.

Mine is contrasting so you can see better :]

Do the same thing for the other bow piece.

Do the same thing for your neck piece.

You now have three pieces, each sewn right sides together with a straight stitch.

Iron your seams flat.

[Pieces are still right sides together!]

They should look like this.

Excuse the nasty ironing board.

Turn your pieces right side out using a safety pin.

Now press them again with the seam in the middle.

Now they look like this.

Fold each of your bow pieces in half crosswise and mark the center with your fabric marking pen.

Take the large bow piece and fold one side in to the center mark.

The fold the other side in so your raw edges meet in the center.

Pin in place.

[I didn't but it really would make things easier. Otherwise you end up folding and adjusting a million times. Believe me.]

Do the exact same thing with your small bow piece.

Place your large bow piece, seams down, on your workspace.

Take your small bow piece...

Put it seam side down on top of your large piece.

Looks like this. Make sense? Make sure your seams match up so everything is centered.

Hold it all together [this is where the pinning you did comes in handy!]

Place it under your sewing foot with the seam directly in the middle, facing up.

Sew with a zig zag stitch [through both layers!] to catch both raw edges.

Looks like this on the other side.

[If this looks off center, it was. Seriously, pin your pieces. I had to take it out and do it over.]

[Note: If you don't want to do a zig zag stitch, you can overlap your raw edges and then do a straight stitch. Just keep in mind the fabric will then be a lot thicker and you will need a stronger needle to penetrate all the layers without breaking the needle.]

Cut a narrow strip of fabric. You can use the same fabric as your bow, a coordinating color, or a contrasting color. See the picture at the bottom of all the bow ties I've made for ideas!

This piece of fabric will be your center piece to create the bow shape.

With the right side face down on your ironing board, fold the sides in [until you have your desired width] and press flat.

This is what it will look like when you're done.

[No sewing required!]

Pinch your bow pieces together to form the bow!

Optional: Holding your bow form tightly, secure the neck piece to the back of the bow with a few hand stitches. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I don't. It's one extra step but it keeps the neck piece in place while you sew on the center piece.

Hand sew one edge of your center piece [that you just ironed!] to the neck piece.

Please make sure it's centered and straight!

Now wrap the center piece around the bow

Pull tight!

Hold in place and snip the tail.

Sew up that last raw edge with a few hand stitches.

Looking good, almost done!

If your velcro is wider than your neck piece, like mine, you will need to trim it just a bit.

Trim it to the size of your neckpiece.

The longer you make your velcro, the better. The bow tie will grow with your child and last longer!

[But, I mean, don't make it the whole length of the neck piece...less than 2 inches is good.]

Remember that you will be sewing one piece of velcro to the right side of the neck piece...

...and the other piece on the wrong side.

Doesn't matter which goes where as long as they are on opposite sides.

Now fold the raw edge over to the side you will be sewing your velcro on [see next picture if that is confusing.]

Put your velcro over your raw edge.

Sew it up with a straight [machine] stitch.

Use the same color thread as your velcro.

See how we hid your raw edge?! Simple!

Repeat on the other side.

TA-DA, YOU ARE FINISHED!

Looks great, super cute!

Now go make another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Obviously, that's what I did.

PS You can wash this bow tie according to the fabric directions.

[Note: I never look at the fabric directions and just wash it with my regular clothes.]

PS2 If you want to make a matching bow for your little girl, just skip the neck piece.

Either substitute a headband for the neck piece [for a younger baby with no hair]

or

When you get to the center piece, stitch it on one side.

Pull center piece around tightly.

Stitch on the other side.

Insert a bobby pin/snap clip/alligator clip through the center piece.

PS3 If you were paying close attention to the pictures you most definitely saw my embarrassing error may have noticed that the completed bow appears to only have one layer. That is because I was so busy taking pictures of the process that I accidentally sewed the smaller piece underneath the large piece...oops! I undid it and fixed it and re-took pictures but not enough. Your final bow should appear to have two layers...one larger bow underneath a smaller bow like so:

Questions? Please ask!

Happy sewing!!

PATTERN

*Click on each picture for full size and print!

For those who cannot print the pattern for any reason, here are the dimensions of the pieces:

The toddler pattern bow should be an OK size for boys ages 5-9 but you will probably want to make the neck tie part a little longer. You can always trim it if it ends up too long...better too long than too short!

You can easily adjust the pattern for an adult man. I've never made one bigger than toddler size but just make the neck tie part a bit longer (and probably a little wider too, unless you want it pretty skinny) and then make the bow both wider and longer. I'm not sure how much bigger you would want to make it but I would probably just increase the size by 50%. Sometimes you can do that before you print or you can take the original pattern to a copy store and have them copy it 50% larger.

Hi, I tried to do once, but I think the neck piece seems to be too short. When I put a velcro in, it's more short and don't look like yours in those pictures. Do we have to fold the neck piece pattern??

The neck piece should be 12" long but if you are finding it's too short for your child's neck you can extend the length and you can always cut off excess when you're done sewing it up (before adding the velcro!). The neckpiece should be folded in half lengthwise (right sides together) then sewn along the length and then flipped right side out using a safety pin before adding velcro. I hope that helps - let me know if you have any other questions!

Hi, the knot is not part of the pattern...just cut a small strip, probably about 1/2" wide or so. Just depends on how wide or narrow you want your center piece to be. All the other measurements are listed at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

What fabrics would you recommend trying? I am planning on doing matching bow ties for my husband and 2 yr old, and a matching bow for my newborn girl. My sister who has sewn bow ties before (and who sent me your website) said she often does a cotton fabric, but that might not look the greatest on my adult husband. Thoughts? Thanks!

Hi Erica, are you talking about the piece that holds the two bows together? Just cut a narrow strip, about 1/2" wide (you will iron the two sides under which will make it about 1/4" after you're done) and about 4" long. You can trim this as needed once you wrap around the bows. Good luck!

I've never tried it! I generally do velcro so it can grow with them but you can definitely try snaps! If you have the child handy to measure I would just measure his neck to see where you need to place the snaps! I would do 2-3 so there is room to grow! Let me know how it turns out!

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